China, is currently everyone's favorite word. As once stated in a former blog, a common rhetoric is often spewed at the author along the lines of one of the following:
"You chose the right language! You must be making lots of money!"

"Do you speak Asian? That's so interesting."

"The great dragon has awakened."

"China is a gold mine!"

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Each statement evokes both excitement and fear from the perpetrator of the words. It also lacks the sentiment that behind that dragon or goldmine, are people. People who are not all going to be Jackie Chan, although while some will be, there are also options like Kungfu Panda. And then Kungfu is often left out altogether. 

 

Unaware of this, many will try to learn the language or move to China risking financial ruin, success beyond ones dreams, becoming jaded or discovering locked up inside them, they really too had the potential to be an asshole. This goes for both learning the language as well as moving to China. 

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So how does one balance this? Particularly moving to China. Many problems lie in cultural misunderstandings and the lack of ability to laugh at oneself or the situation one is in. Remember it's one thing to go on a holiday and have a Lonely Planet guide and a funky language phrase book handy. It's another thing to take on a country for a whole few years, with only a few friends from there prior to moving and no cultural guide book (beyond what ones university library holds).

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HOW TO CHINA is THE guide book for this. Initially, born out of a language and cultural degree, 8 months living and 1 relationship, written in 2006, How to China made its way slowly by pen and paper and use of the Vancouver Library computers. Now in 2017, after half a decade of direct alien-in-country contact (you can take that whatever way you want), through dodgy language mastery and translation and much updating (with its very own laptop); How to China, a guide to living, can finally be offered to those Post Olympic bunnies who wish to take a crack at playing with the dragon.